Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Christmas after Yolanda

THE wrath as seen in the aftermath of
Haiyan a.k.a. Yolanda are still all over Eastern Samar and Eastern Visayas as a
whole. But the media myopia simply gazes at Tacloban and Leyte. I do not mind
this at all except when it gets in the way of reaching all victims in Eastern
Samar as well as the whole Eastern, Central and Western Visayas, that need help
till this very second. I personally do not relish the infighting among our
political leaders, although it would help a lot if the national government
stops making up excuses and simply makes up for its undeniable failures at
timely, steady, organized and continuing response to the victims, considering
their real needs and problems, among others.

On
my first trip to Manila A.Y. (After Yolanda) I must admit to having gone
through an I.T.P.D. (Increased Trauma Post Disaster) syndrome (pardon my having
just coined the term) as I was seeing again and again the ravaged coconut trees
(our main source of livelihood in Eastern Samar), flattened houses, damaged
crops and properties from the safe comfort of a van bringing me to Tacloban
airport. I thought of how the killer Yolanda winds and waves have somewhat
spared the greater part of my parish (only the shoreline houses, cottages and
structures were brought down flat) and not the likes of Balangkayan, Hernani,
Matarinao, Giporlos, Balangiga, Lawaan and many other towns and barangays in my
province alone. I looked at the people along the roads and byways. There was a
heroic effort to return to normalcy, except that the effort was always met by
the abnormal everyday scenery of devastation. Till now I marvel at our people’s
survival skills and endurance that can only be explained by both past
experiences with extra strong typhoons and an undeniable faith in God. For
instance, anyone who has seen the extent of Yolanda’s damage in places such as
Balangkayan, Hernani, Guiuan, Giporlos and Lawaan would be in awe that only
more than 200 hundred casualties are officially recorded not only in these
places but in the whole Eastern Samar as well.

It
should make us pause that artists, singers and other celebrities, local and
international, are among the first to feel for and with the victims, no matter
their race, religion, gender or orientation. But the publicity and media
mileage they generate should not make us turn a blind eye on many other local
and international groups who, out of sheer human compassion, come to the aid of
victims and the Filipino nation as well. Sometimes I wonder if God allows
disasters to happen to wake humankind up to their fellow humans, which is not
to say that we do not regret their human toll in lives lost and untold
suffering caused. On the other hand, who would deny that crises born of
disasters have a way of making human beings look beyond the color of their skin
and the other biases of their minds and hearts to our common and basic identity
as members of a big, big human family? Does this not in itself raise the
question of why it should take disasters of great magnitude for us humans to
realize the fundamental truth of our human brotherhood and to stop wars and
self-destructive rivalries born of hegemonic ambitions? Is not the Yolanda
cataclysm ironic in that a disaster sidelined the poisoned relations among
nations, which in themselves are a sure recipe to mutually assured destruction
among us?

It was so
obvious there are gaps in the disaster responses by various groups. Some
places, such as Guiuan or Tacloban, are given an avalanche of attention and
care while other places, with less media presence hounding their post disaster
lives, are left to their own devices. I know for a fact that the Diocese of
Borongan and, to a certain extent, the provincial government are trying hard to
address these gaps. But their resources are understandably very limited.
Thankfully, some local and international aggrupations, through whom we feel the
compassionate hand of Mother Church, like Caritas Manila, Gawad Kalinga of CFC,
Catholic Relief Services, truckloads of relief and service personnel from other
dioceses of the country, Caritas Germany etc., have been on hand to provide us
much needed help. Again, the brotherhood of humanity is something we in Church
proclaim as not only a matter of belief but also of practice.

This Christmas
there should not be a grand celebration in Eastern Samar. But this Christmas
will be laden with a lot more meaning and spirituality. We certainly will feel
the poverty, vulnerability and lowliness of the baby Jesus in the manger. We
will go through same insecurity and deprivations we so lovingly gaze upon in
the Holy Family. It should be our hope and prayer that the same blessed
emptiness wake us up to the grandeur of God’s humble but unfailing love.

In a place
called Brgy Bagtong, near Salcedo, Eastern Samar, I saw a vast heartbreaking
scene of coconut trees either blown down, cut up or twisted in all shapes and
directions like candles in the Super Typhoon winds. But, to my surprise, a
farmer was in the same area. He was planting camote and camoteng kahoy that had
now covered almost a hectare of fresh vegetation against a backdrop of wanton
devastation. That, I believe, sums up the Eastern Samar spirit. A spirit that
runs in our blood up to and beyond Christmas, as we prepare with St. Joseph to
stand by Mama Mary, ready to extend all the care we can, on her way to giving
birth to him who brings not only cheer but the gift of God’s heavenly kingdom even
in the impoverished hovels of the earth.